1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to data processing systems and, in particular, to a data processing system and method including a server and client computer system coupled together utilizing a network. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a data processing system and method including a server and client computer system coupled together utilizing a network for remotely disabling an ability of the client to access the network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computer systems are well known in the art. They have attained widespread use for providing computer power to many segments of today's modern society. Personal computers (PCs) may be defined as a desktop, floor standing, or portable microcomputer that includes a system unit having a central processing unit (CPU) and associated volatile and non-volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM) and basic input/output system read only memory (BIOS ROM), a system monitor, a keyboard, one or more flexible diskette drives, a CD-ROM drive, a fixed disk storage drive (also known as a "hard drive"), a pointing device such as a mouse, and an optional network interface adapter. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a motherboard or system planar to electrically connect these components together. Examples of such personal computer systems are IBM's PC series, Aptiva series, and Thinkpad series.
With PCs being increasingly connected into networks to allow transfers of data among computers to occur, more operations such as maintenance, updating of applications, and data collections are occurring over the network. Computer networks are also becoming essential to their user. It is desirable minimize loss of productivity by increasing availability of network resources. In today's network world, the availability and performance of the network is as important as the availability and performance of the personal computer.
With the evolution from mainframe and dumb terminal to client-server networks, computing has created several issues for Information Services (IS) managers. In the mainframe/dumb terminal world, the communication path was from the terminal to the mainframe and then to other systems. In the client-server world, the client has the ability to send messages to and from other clients, as well as to the server.
One disadvantage of the client-server environment occurs when a client malfunctions. A malfunctioning client can disrupt the entire network by generating excessive network traffic. A hacker, software bus, or other system problem may cause the malfunction.
In the mainframe/dumb terminal environment, the IS manager could log-off the account and shut down the terminal, thus eliminating the excessive network traffic. In the client/server environment, the IS manager may send a request to the operating system of the client to stop sending messages. However, the operating system may or may not respond.
Therefore a need exists for a data processing system and method for a server computer system to remotely disable an ability of a client to access the network.